"a summer's day"

"a summer's day" 12"x16" pastel on home prep mat board

 I have not been inspired to paint much these last couple of weeks, but still sketching every day.

in my sketchbook

On my iPad I keep most of my reference photos for painting. When using your own photos , I think you have a better connection. You were there, you took the photo, something caught your eye, so typically I paint from my own photos. I came across a photo on my IPad when looking for something to paint and found one  that was not mine. I don't remember where it came from, but I loved the photo. Not wanting to pressure myself, I decided to use the photo and did a sketch, it felt good….. 

I had fun with my last painting using mat board that I had prepped myself and decided to do this again.

 

I cleaned up my pastels and was ready to paint!

the board is white so I layer in the basic shapes with Nupastel and a turbenoid wash with a brush.

 It was feeling good, here is a progress shot. I got to this point and decided to let it sit for the night. 

Here is a close up detail. I'm liking the texture of this board, it forces me to be looser and get away from the details . I was constantly stepping back to make sure the painting was working. I finished the rest up this morning, working on the flowers in the foreground. I kept telling myself to forget about the detail and just suggest the flowers. I feel good with the end result.